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Neighbours invite each other to take or drop off items in brightly coloured boxes

Adam Holowitz places items into a sharing box in the front yard of his Mountsfield Drive home in London, Ontario on Friday June 20, 2014. Whimsical writing on the front invites passersby to take an item from the box, and encourages them to leave something else behind for the next person to discover.
CRAIG GLOVER/The London Free Press/QMI Agency

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Some mysterious, neatly-­decorated boxes are gracing the tree-lined streets of a London neighbourhood known for its quaint touches.

They’re so-called swap boxes.

The idea behind them is simple: passersby can take a small item, and leave another in return.

Residents look after the boxes, which have been popping up on the lawns in Old South.

“It’s been hugely successful, really, really fun. There’s little kids that come every day to see what is in it. And there are all kinds of interesting things going in and out of it,” said Katlin Robinson, who oversees Old South’s first swap box.

Robinson found out about swap boxes after her father had a stroke and spent 18 months in an Ottawa hospital recovering. It was on one of his daily excursions outside the hospital that Robinson’s father and stepmother noticed a neatly painted swap box on a lawn.

“They kind of made it their daily mission and their daily outing to see what was in the swap box during his recovery,” said Robinson.

Last December, when her father was discharged from the hospital, Robinson commissioned local birdhouse maker Gord Harrison to build a swap box for her father as a Christmas gift.

She liked the idea so much, she had Harrison make her one as well.

Robinson, who’s has had her swap box outside since late March, moved to London from Toronto last August.

“It has been a really nice way of connecting with people,” she said. “They recognize the swap box (and) they smile.”

People have left random and unusual objects in the Old South swap boxes — from finger puppets, to polished stones, small toys, books, T-shirts and pencils.

“It is something that just pops up. It is neat because there is no planning behind it,” said Adam Corrigan-Holowitz, who was inspired to make his own swap box after seeing others.

The 19-year-old’s box is becoming a popular attraction for kids walking to and from nearby Mountsfield public school. So far, he’s found a hall pass and other trinkets in the week the box has been up.

“There has been more taking than sharing so far,” he said, “but is just fun.”

Another neatly painted swap box stands on Cathcart St.

“It has been fun watching people get used to it and now they actually open it and look in it and take things out,” said Katie Lawrence, Harrison’s neighbour.